World War II began as a conflict between European powers but expanded into a World War after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. It ended with the ascension of the United States and the Soviet Union to the status of the only two World Super-Powers, and the subsequent Cold War between these nations.
The Events Leading up to World War II
The punishment clauses of Germany in the Versailles treaty that ended the First World War caused Germans to hate it and the German people to support Hitler’s actions to defy the treaty. The reparation payments helped trigger WWII.
The Germans supported Hitler because they wanted a strong leader.
Great Britain and France allowed Hitler to annex the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia as part of the Munich Pact. This policy became known as appeasement, and is still condemned today.
Hitler believed that the Jews were to blame for Germany’s defeat in WWI.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact was similar to the treaty that created the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis in that it enabled the signers to engage freely in aggressive actions. It only said that Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union would not fight each other. Both these regimes were totalitarian and used their secret police to enforce their rule.
Hitler’s invasion of Poland launched World War II because it caused Britain and France to abandon their policy of appeasement.
War in Europe
Germany began World War II mostly surrounded by the Allied countries.
France was rapidly overrun by the German offensive in the West and forced to surrender to Germany.
Winston Churchill after the Dunkirk evacuation stated: “Hitler knows that he will have to break us or lose the war.” This justified Churchill’s resolve to fight on against Germany. But Great Britain also had the best natural geographic protection against German ground forces in the English Channel. And the German navy was not strong enough to risk invasion in 1940.
Early Nazi military successes resulted in the conquest of most of Europe and North Africa.
The Battle of the Bulge (Dec 1944) was the last time that Nazi forces went on the offensive in Western Europe. Hitler hoped to repeat his spectacular defeat of France in 1940 by separating the British and American armies, preventing the port of Antwerp from becoming a major Anglo-American supply point, and to force the U.S. and Britain to sign a separate peace so that he could focus his defense on the Eastern Front. Hitler always thought he could convince the Western Allies that their ally Stalin (and Communism) was a bigger threat to their long-term wellbeing than Hitler was and to join him in a crusade against Communism.
Ultimately, the Axis underestimated the cost of fighting on multiple fronts.
The Holocaust
The Germans built six special camps in occupied Poland to implement Hitler’s “Final Solution of the Jewish Question.” These camps became killing centers in an attempt to wipe our European Jews entirely.
The main target of the Nazi’s in their extermination camps were Jews. However they also targeted gypsies, also known as Roma.
The allied nations’ response to the Holocaust was that they considered it primarily a “refugee situation” and they did not want it to interfere with their war efforts. For example, Jewish groups in the United States urged the bombing of the concentration camps (to stop executions and disrupt lethal work routines), but the heads of the strategic bombing force objected that such a diversion of resources would delay the end of the war. Near the end of the war the allies did focus efforts on liberating the camps.
War in the Pacific
Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 because Japanese militarists wanted to build an empire to rival the Western colonial empires like that of Great Britain.
Japan attacked the United States at Pearl Harbor in order to build a Pacific empire without interference from the U.S. Pacific fleet.
General Douglas MacArthur developed the tactic of “island-hopping.” This involved capturing bases in the Pacific by bypassing Japanese areas of strength and instead attacking “strategically important islands that were not well defended but capable of supporting the drive to the main islands of Japan.” (Wikipedia) Island-hopping allowed the United States to more quickly reach Japan and not expend the time, manpower, and supplies to capture every major Japanese base along the way.
After the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, Japanese militants in the government and armed forces still refused to contemplate surrender. It took the intervention of Emperor Hirohito to force the government to sue for peace.
Miscellaneous
By the late 1930’s, Western countries refused to accept more immigrants because they were burdened with the effects of the Great Depression. They also were desperate and the governments of the west tried to protect their economies from foreign competition and increased taxes on imports, worsening the spread of the depression.
Technology greatly advanced in WWII, allowing fleets of large aircraft to enter the war as opposed to the relatively small biplanes of a generation earlier.
As in World War I, World War II opened up many new job opportunities for women because many men were committed to military service overseas. Women obtained new jobs in war industries and took over typical male jobs such as plumbers and stevedores. Women became farmers and worked in agriculture. Women also joined the armed services (to free up men to fight) and worked as truck drivers, engineers, repaired airplanes, rigged parachutes, and served as radio operators.
The Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, and the Tokyo War Crimes Trials, helped discredit totalitarian and military-based regimes. They established new legal principles such as crimes against humanity and crimes against peace. They documented the extent of the crimes of the Nazi’s and Japanese militarists, revealed the extent of their leaders’ depravity, and left a lasting impression on the world.
The combined efforts of the Allies, particularly the United States, Great Britain and the Soviet Union overpowered Germany and Japan, eventually ending the war in 1945.
The United Nations was created after World War II in an effort to ensure peace in the world (the League of Nations had the same goal after World War I). It has led to increased collaboration between Western nations and has been active for seventy years and the world has so far avoided a World War III (“knock on wood”).
According to this, answer these questions
1. How did World War I contribute to the events leading up to World War II?(1 point)
Responses
Germans wanted to expand their nation to regain territory in the Soviet Union.
Germans hated the Versailles treaty and supported Hitler's actions to defy it.
The Soviet Union wanted to take over German territory in Eastern Europe.
Britain and France wanted to force Germany to make reparation payments.
2. Why did the invasion of Poland launch World War II?(1 point)
Responses
It violated Hitler's nonaggression pact with Stalin.
It led Britain and France to abandon the policy of appeasement.
It led the United States to abandon the policy of neutrality.
It was the first time German forces used the blitzkrieg strategy.
3. In this form of government, a one-party dictatorship attempts to regulate every aspect of the lives of its citizens.
The quotation above best describes what form of government?
(1 point)
Responses
anarchy
republic
fascist
democracy
4. Why did France surrender to Germany?
(1 point)
Responses
France was overrun by German and Italian forces.
France was unable to fund its war effort.
France did not receive military support from Britain.
The French people favored Hitler.
5. Why did support for Hitler increase in the early 1930s?(1 point)
Responses
Germans wanted a leader who would institute Marxist policies.
Germans believed he had given up his extreme ideas while in jail.
The German people wanted a strong leader to end economic woes.
Hitler had successfully proven himself as government leader.
6. Why is the Munich Pact an example of appeasement?(1 point)
Responses
It stopped German repayment of debt from World War I.
It gave Germany the power to annex Belgium.
It gave Hitler permission to rebuild the German military.
It allowed Hitler to take over Czechoslovakia.
7. What was the main reason the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?(1 point)
Responses
They wanted to build a Pacific empire without interference.
They wanted to stop the United States from selling war materials to Britain.
They wanted to invade the United States.
They wanted to seize the natural resources of Hawaii.
8. Which statement best explains why the Great Depression spread throughout the world?(1 point)
Responses
High unemployment led people to lose faith in democracy and left many countries vulnerable to attack.
Banks continued to lend money to countries and individuals but it was not enough
Desperate governments tried to protect their economies from foreign competition and increased taxes on imports
Europe owed reparations to Germany, and when it couldn’t pay, Germany collapsed.
9. Which event caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany?
(1 point)
Responses
Germany made an alliance with Japan..
Germany tried to annex Austria.
Germany invaded Poland.
Germany began to bomb Britain.
Germany invaded Poland.
you were supposed to answer them all.
I apologize for the oversight. Here are the answers to all the questions:
1. How did World War I contribute to the events leading up to World War II?
Germans hated the Versailles treaty and supported Hitler's actions to defy it.
2. Why did the invasion of Poland launch World War II?
It led Britain and France to abandon the policy of appeasement.
3. In this form of government, a one-party dictatorship attempts to regulate every aspect of the lives of its citizens. The quotation above best describes what form of government?
Fascist
4. Why did France surrender to Germany?
France was overrun by German and Italian forces.
5. Why did support for Hitler increase in the early 1930s?
The German people wanted a strong leader to end economic woes.
6. Why is the Munich Pact an example of appeasement?
It allowed Hitler to take over Czechoslovakia.
7. What was the main reason the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?
They wanted to build a Pacific empire without interference.
8. Which statement best explains why the Great Depression spread throughout the world?
Desperate governments tried to protect their economies from foreign competition and increased taxes on imports.
9. Which event caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany?
Germany invaded Poland.
1. How did World War I contribute to the events leading up to World War II?
The correct answer is: Germans hated the Versailles treaty and supported Hitler's actions to defy it.
World War I contributed to the events leading up to World War II in several ways. One important factor was the harsh punishment clauses of the Versailles treaty that ended World War I. These clauses caused the Germans to resent the treaty and seek ways to defy it. The reparation payments imposed on Germany as part of the treaty also fueled economic hardship and contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party. Germans saw Hitler as a strong leader who would restore their national pride and overturn the conditions imposed by the Versailles treaty.
2. Why did the invasion of Poland launch World War II?
The correct answer is: It led Britain and France to abandon the policy of appeasement.
The invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939 was a direct violation of the nonaggression pact between Germany and Poland. This act of aggression prompted Britain and France to abandon their policy of appeasement towards Germany and declare war on Germany. The invasion of Poland was seen as a clear threat to peace and the principle of national sovereignty, leading to the expansion of the conflict and the start of World War II.
3. In this form of government, a one-party dictatorship attempts to regulate every aspect of the lives of its citizens. The quotation above best describes what form of government?
The correct answer is: fascist
The quotation describes a fascist form of government. Fascism is a far-right political ideology that promotes dictatorial power, extreme nationalism, suppression of individual liberties, and the complete control of society by the ruling party or leader. In a fascist regime, the government attempts to regulate every aspect of citizens' lives and enforce strict conformity to nationalistic ideals.
4. Why did France surrender to Germany?
The correct answer is: France was overrun by German and Italian forces.
France surrendered to Germany during World War II primarily because it was unable to withstand the rapid advance of German and Italian forces. In 1940, Germany launched a military offensive in the West, employing the blitzkrieg strategy, which quickly overran French defenses. The surrender of France resulted in the establishment of a collaborationist regime in Vichy France, while the Resistance movement continued the fight against German occupation.
5. Why did support for Hitler increase in the early 1930s?
The correct answer is: The German people wanted a strong leader to end economic woes.
Support for Hitler increased in the early 1930s in Germany because the German people were desperate for a strong leader who would address the economic hardships they were facing. The country was still reeling from the economic consequences of World War I and the Great Depression. Hitler's promises of economic recovery and national pride resonated with many Germans and his leadership gave them hope for a better future.
6. Why is the Munich Pact an example of appeasement?
The correct answer is: It allowed Hitler to take over Czechoslovakia.
The Munich Pact, signed in 1938, was indeed an example of appeasement. The pact was an agreement reached between Germany, Italy, France, and Britain that allowed Adolf Hitler to annex the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia. This appeasement policy was an attempt to avoid war by appeasing Hitler's territorial demands, with the hopes that it would satisfy his ambitions and maintain peace in Europe. However, it ultimately failed to prevent further aggression from Hitler and ultimately led to the outbreak of World War II.
7. What was the main reason the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?
The correct answer is: They wanted to build a Pacific empire without interference.
The main reason for the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 was their desire to build a Pacific empire without interference from the United States. Japan sought to expand its influence and secure important resources in Southeast Asia. The United States, particularly through its policies of economic sanctions, was seen as a major obstacle to Japan's imperial ambitions. The attack on Pearl Harbor was intended to cripple the U.S. Pacific Fleet and remove this obstacle.
8. Which statement best explains why the Great Depression spread throughout the world?
The correct answer is: Desperate governments tried to protect their economies from foreign competition and increased taxes on imports.
The spread of the Great Depression throughout the world can be attributed to various factors, but one important cause was the economic policies pursued by desperate governments in response to the crisis. Many countries sought to protect their economies from foreign competition by imposing high tariffs and increasing taxes on imports. These protectionist measures worsened the spread of the depression by stifling international trade and causing a global economic downturn. The lack of international cooperation and the focus on national self-interest contributed to the interconnectedness of the crisis.
9. Which event caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany?
The correct answer is: Germany invaded Poland.
The event that caused Britain and France to declare war on Germany was the German invasion of Poland in September 1939. Germany's aggression violated international treaties and threatened the stability of Europe. Britain and France had given Poland assurances of military support in the event of a German invasion, and they honored this commitment by declaring war on Germany. This marked the beginning of World War II.